Stopped-flow kinetic studies of sphere-to-rod transitions of sodium alkyl sulfate micelles induced by hydrotropic salt

Surfactant desorption and scission free energies for cylindrical and spherical micelles from umbrella-sampling molecular dynamics simulations

HYPOTHESIS

The free energies associated with adsorption/desorption of individual surfactants from micelles and the fusion/scission of long micelles can be used to estimate the rate constants for micellar kinetics as functions of surfactant and salt concentration.

EXPERIMENTS

We compute the escape free energies △G_esc of surfactant from micelles and the scission free energies △G_sciss of long micelles from coarse-grained molecular dynamics simulations coupled with umbrella sampling, for micelles of both sodium dodecylsulfate (SDS) in sodium chloride (NaCl) and cetyltrimethylammonium chloride (CTAC) in sodium salicylate (NaSal).

FINDINGS

For spherical micelles, △G_esc values have maxima at certain aggregation numbers, and at salt-to-surfactant molar concentration ratios R near unity, consistent with experiments. For cylindrical micelles, SDS/NaCl shows a minimum, and CTAC/NaSal a maximum in △G_esc, both at R ~ 0.7, while △G_sciss of CTAC micelles also peaks at around R ~ 0.7 and that of SDS micelles increases monotonically with R. We explain the non-monotonic dependence of escape and scission free energies on R by a combination of electrostatic screening and the decrease of micelle radius with increasing R. Transitions from predominantly spherical to cylindrical micelles, and between adsorption/desorption and fusion/scission kinetics with changing salt concentration can be inferred from the free energies for CTAC/NaSal.

The formation mechanism of ZnTPyP fibers fabricated by a surfactant-assisted method

Zn–N coordination and the sphere-to-rod transition of CTAB micelles contribute concertedly to the formation of ZnTPyP fibers.

Kinetics and Mechanism of Cationic Micelle/Flexible Nanoparticle Catalysis: A Review

The aqueous surfactant (Surf) solution at [Surf] > cmc (critical micelle concentration) contains flexible micelles/nanoparticles. These particles form a pseudophase of different shapes and sizes where the medium polarity decreases as the distance increases from the exterior region of the interface of the Surf/H2O particle towards its furthest interior region. Flexible nanoparticles (FNs) catalyse a variety of chemical and biochemical reactions. FN catalysis involves both positive catalysis ( i.e. rate increase) and negative catalysis ( i.e. rate decrease). This article describes the mechanistic details of these catalyses at the molecular level, which reveals the molecular origin of these catalyses. Effects of inert counterionic salts (MX) on the rates of bimolecular reactions (with one of the reactants as reactive counterion) in the presence of ionic FNs/micelles may result in either positive or negative catalysis. The kinetics of cationic FN (Surf/MX/H2O)-catalysed bimolecular reactions (with nonionic and anionic reactants) provide kinetic parameters which can be used to determine an ion exchange constant or the ratio of the binding constants of counterions.

Kinetics and Mechanism of Counterionic Salt-Catalysed Piperidinolysis of Anionic Phenyl Salicylate in the Presence of Cationic–Nonionic Mixed Micelles

The quantitative correlation of counterion-affinity to aqueous hexadecyltrimethylammonium bromide (HDAB, cationic micelles/nanoparticles) and the counterion-induced HDAB micellar growth, in the presence of different amounts of poly(ethylene glycol hexadecyl ether) (C16E20, nonionic surfactant), was achieved by the use of a semi-empirical kinetic (SEK) method. The values of the ratio of cationic HDAB, as well as mixed HDAB–C16E20, micellar binding constants of X and Br, KX/ KBr (= KXBr or RXBr) for X = 4-ClC6H4CO2-, were obtained by the SEK method. The concentration range (0.006–0.015 M) of pure HDAB was found to have no influence on the values of KXBr or RXBr. These observations were also recorded upon addition of a nonionic surfactant, C16E20, in an aqueous solution of HDAB. The mean value of KXBr or RXBr obtained in the presence of pure HDAB ( KXBr or RXBr = 50.3) is 2.3 times larger than that in the presence of mixed HDAB–C16E20 (m KXBr or m RXBr = 21.7). From rheometric measurements of aqueous HDA+/4-ClC6H4CO2- with 0.015 M HDAB, single symmetric maxima (at both 25 and 35 °C) were obtained at [4-ClC6H4CO2Na] = 0.03 M. This is evidence for the existence of wormlike micelles/nanoparticles. However, the absence of a maximum in rheometric data for aqueous HDA+/C16E20/4-ClC6H4CO2- with 0.015 M HDAB and 0.006 M C16E20 at various [4-ClC6H4CO2Na] revealed the existence of spherical micelles.

Transformation from Globular to Cylindrical Mixed Micelles through Molecular Exchange that Induces Micelle Fusion

Transformations between different micellar morphologies in solution induced by changes in composition, salt, or temperature are well-known phenomena; however, the understanding of the associated kinetic pathways is still limited. Especially for mixed surfactant systems, the micelles can take a very wide range of structures, depending on the surfactant packing parameter and other thermodynamic conditions. Synchrotron-based small-angle X-ray scattering (SAXS) in combination with fast mixing using a stopped-flow apparatus can give direct access to the structural kinetics on a millisecond time scale. Here, this approach is used to study the formation of cylindrical micelles after mixing two solutions with globular micelles of the nonionic surfactant dodecyl maltoside (DDM) and the anionic surfactant sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS), respectively. Two separate processes were identified: (i) a transition in micellar shell structure, interpreted as exchange of surfactant molecules resulting in mixed globular micelles, and subsequently, (ii) fusion into larger, cylindrical structures.

Dilution or heating induced thickening in a sodium dodecyl sulfate/p-toluidine hydrochloride aqueous solution

Dilution or heating induced desorption of PTH⁺ increases the effective headgroup area and reduces the tail volume, thereby driving a spontaneous transition from vesicles to WLMs.

Fusion and fission inhibited by the same mechanism in electrostatically charged surfactant micelles

This paper revises the general idea about the role of intermicellar and intramiceller interactions in inhibiting fusion of self-assembled surfactant micelles. Fusion and fission of micelles are usually thought to be limited by different mechanisms. While fission is accepted to be controlled by surface instabilities (intramicellar interactions), fusion is commonly thought to be rate limited by the barrier to the close approach between two micelles due to the steric or Coulombic repulsions (intramicellar interactions). Here we describe the role of electrostatic repulsions in inhibiting fusion and fission kinetics in self-assembled micelles. We use stopped flow-fluorescence technique with hydrophobic pyrene to quantify fusion and fission in ionic/nonionic mixed micelles (Triton X-100/SDS). We show that the fusion and fission rates decrease with the same tendency with increasing the fraction of the ionic charges, while their ratio remains constant. Our results are interpreted to mean that, in slightly charged micelles, fusion shares the same limiting step with fission, which most likely involves surface instabilities and intramiceller interactions.

Quantitative correlation between counterion-affinity to cationic micelles and counterion-induced micellar growth

The fascinating and serendipitous discovery, in 1976, of the characteristic viscoelastic behavior of wormlike micelles of cetyltrimethylammonium salicylate (CTASa) surfactant solution at ~2×10(-4) M CTASa became a catalyst for an increasing interest in both industrial application and mechanism of the origin of micellar growth of this and related wormlike micellar systems. It has been perceived for more than three decades, based upon qualitative evidence, that the extent of the strength of the counterion (X) binding to ionic micelles determines the counterion-induced micellar structural transition from spherical-to-small rodlike-to-linear long stiff/flexible rodlike/wormlike-to-entangled wormlike micelles. This perception predicts the presence of a possible quantitative correlation of counterionic micellar binding constants (KX) with counterion-induced micellar growth. The quantitative estimation of counterion binding affinity to cationic micelles, in terms of the values of the degree of counterion binding (βX), is concluded to be either inefficient or unreliable for moderately hydrophobic counterions (such as substituted benzoate ions). The values of KX, measured in terms of conventional ion exchange constants (KX(Y)), can provide a quantitative correlation between KX or KX(Y) (with a reference counterion Y=Cl(-) or Br(-)) and counterion-induced ionic micellar growth. A recent new semi-empirical kinetic (SEK) method provides the estimation of KX(Y) for Y=Br as well as ratio of counterionic micellar binding constants KX/KBr (= RX(Br)) where the values of KBr and KX have been derived from the kinetic parameters in the presence of cationic spherical and nonspherical micelles, respectively. The SEK method has been used to determine the values of KX(Br) or RX(Br) for X=2-, 3- and 4-ClC6H4CO2(-). Rheometric measurements on aqueous CTABr/MX (MX=2-,3- and 4-ClBzNa) solutions containing 0.015 M CTABr and varying values of [MX] reveal the presence of spherical micelles for MX=2-ClBzNa and long linear as well as entangled wormlike micelles for MX=3- and 4-ClBzNa. The respective values of KX(Br) or RX(Br) of 5.7, 50 and 48 for X=2-, 3- and 4-ClBz(-) give a quantitative correlation with the rheometric measurements of the structural features of micelles of 0.015 M CTABr solutions containing 2-, 3- and 4 ClBzNa.

Direct observation of the formation of surfactant micelles under nonisothermal conditions by synchrotron SAXS

Self-assembly of amphiphilic molecules into micelles occurs on very short times scales of typically some milliseconds, and the structural evolution is therefore very challenging to observe experimentally. While rate constants of surfactant micelle kinetics have been accessed by spectroscopic techniques for decades, so far no experiments providing detailed information on the structural evolution of surfactant micelles during their formation process have been reported. In this work we show that by applying synchrotron small-angle X-ray scattering (SAXS) in combination with the stopped-flow mixing technique, the entire micelle formation process from single surfactants to equilibrium micelles can be followed in situ. Using a sugar-based surfactant system of dodecyl maltoside (DDM) in dimethylformamide (DMF), micelle formation can be induced simply by adding water, and this can be followed in situ by SAXS. Mixing of water and DMF is an exothermic process where the micelle formation process occurs under nonisothermal conditions with a temperature gradient relaxing from about 40 to 20 °C. A kinetic nucleation and growth mechanism model describing micelle formation by insertion/expulsion of single molecules under nonisothermal conditions was developed and shown to describe the data very well.

Methods for investigating biosurfactants and bioemulsifiers: a review

Microorganisms produce biosurfactant (BS)/bioemulsifier (BE) with wide structural and functional diversity which consequently results in the adoption of different techniques to investigate these diverse amphiphilic molecules. This review aims to compile information on different microbial screening methods, surface active products extraction procedures, and analytical terminologies used in this field. Different methods for screening microbial culture broth or cell biomass for surface active compounds production are also presented and their possible advantages and disadvantages highlighted. In addition, the most common methods for purification, detection, and structure determination for a wide range of BS and BE are introduced. Simple techniques such as precipitation using acetone, ammonium sulphate, solvent extraction, ultrafiltration, ion exchange, dialysis, ultrafiltration, lyophilization, isoelectric focusing (IEF), and thin layer chromatography (TLC) are described. Other more elaborate techniques including high pressure liquid chromatography (HPLC), infra red (IR), gas chromatography-mass spectroscopy (GC-MS), nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR), and fast atom bombardment mass spectroscopy (FAB-MS), protein digestion and amino acid sequencing are also elucidated. Various experimental strategies including static light scattering and hydrodynamic characterization for micelles have been discussed. A combination of various analytical methods are often essential in this area of research and a numbers of trials and errors to isolate, purify and characterize various surface active agents are required. This review introduces the various methodologies that are indispensable for studying biosurfactants and bioemulsifiers.

Effect of Catechol on the Size and Shape of CTAB Micelles in Aqueous Solutions

The effects of catechol on the change of cetyltrimethylammonium bromide (CTAB) micelles in aqueous solutions have been studied by Ultramicroelectrode (UME) cyclic voltammetry and Time-Resolved Fluorescence Quenching (TRFQ). It has been shown that the diffusion coefficient decreases and the micelle aggregation number increases with the addition of catechol. This indicates that catechol has influence on the size or shape of CTAB micelles. In order to analyze the change of the micelles, other micelle parameters like the effective radius (a), surface area of micelle (S), area of single CTAB molecule (A) and packing parameter (P) were calculated. The values of P which is relative to the shape of the micelles are consistent with the change of the diffusion coefficient. All the results show that catechol can accelerate the increase of the aggregate size and sphere-to-rod morphology change of CTAB micelles even with lower concentration of CTAB. This is because that hydrophobic force makes catechol insert into CTAB micelles between CTAB molecules, which leads to the increase of the radius of curvature. The increase of aggregate size and the sphere-to-rod morphology change are also promoted as a result.